Bullies vs IronCap
by Midnight523
Summary: What did happen to Harley Keener and his bully problem? After all, he used the bully device thing to save Iron Man... now Iron Man is repaying the favor, and is dragging poor Captain America along for the ride...


**So, this fic was written by both myself and crazy potterhead. This was written in her usual format, which is why it has the different POVs listed. Hope you enjoy!**

Tony's POV:

There was something nagging at my brain as I work on the latest model of my suit. I hate not remembering things, almost as much as I hate not knowing things. Capsicle and I had gotten together to talk about the recent terrorist attack I stopped and the… whatever it was he did, probably some sort of heroic thing for the 'good-of-man-kind' or 'God-Bless-America' or something like that.

"So what do you think about these attacks on America Stark. It's happening everywhere, even within S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm keen to hear what you have to say about it all."

"Keen? Seriously? Who even says keen anym- Wait. Whoa, whoa, wait. Hold up."

"What?"

"Keen… Keen-er… Keener? Why does that sound familiar?"

"Harley Keener sir. The young boy who helped us in Tennessee. I believe he threatened you with a potato gun." Jarvis announced.

"Aha! Thank you Jarvis. I remember now. God that's been bugging me."

"Wait… who is this kid that threatened you with a potato gun?" Steve asked, but I ignored him.

"Redesigned his garage, but I was forgetting something… Oh! Crap that's right. I remember. He used that bully repellent to get rid of the baked potato." I muttered to myself before saying loudly, "Jarvis, I want a check up on Harley Keener right now, video, audio, a Facebook post, the whole shebang. See what's up with those kids that pick on him."

"Sir I have found live video feed of the school, should I put you through?"

"Yeah, go ahead Jarvis."

"Stark wh-"

"Shh."

I watched as a video feed of a playground came up. I noticed something going on in the background and told Jarvis to zoom and focus. Once he did I recognized Harley, surrounded by a bunch of kids that look older than him.

"Jarvis, access the audio."

"Right away sir."

"Come on Keener. Where is you buddy Ironman now? Oh that's right! Iron Man wouldn't waste time on a pathetic loser like you," was heard throughout the room as the audio turned on.

"Shut up Keith! I do know Iron Man! I helped him!" Harley exclaimed.

The kid, Keith, pushed him down. Harley tried to get up, but he was surrounded. Just then, a bell rang.

"I'll teach you a lesson tomorrow, Keener." Keith said to Harley and ran towards the doors, along with the rest of his posse.

"Cap, how would you feel about taking a trip to Tennessee with me tonight?" I asked Rodgers, who was staring dumbfounded at the screen.

"What are you going to do Tony?" He asked suspiciously. "Who is this kid? What does he mean he helped you?"

"I'll explain on the jet grandpa." I slapped his arm playfully and walked out of the room, Rogers following right behind me, still confused.

~oOo~

Steve's POV:

Tony explained the whole Harley Keener story to me on his private jet as promised. I was surprised to say the least, and the most surprising thing is how much Tony cared about Harley. I couldn't help but ask him about it.

"He's a good kid. Just needs a little help."

I raised my eyebrow at that. _Just needs a little help?_ Tony hurried to continue on. "Not that I really care, but I did promise the kid I would help him with his bully problems, and aren't you guys the ones that are constantly getting on me about keeping my word? Geez, what's a guy gotta do to impress you all?"

I let Tony grumble away, turning to hide my smile. He had a reputation to maintain, and who was I to let anyone know how much he really cared?

~oOo~

Tony's POV:

The garage was exactly as I remembered it after I…well, remodeled it would be the best word, I suppose. I went around the room, fiddling with the different gadgets I had left here for him. Some of them were the same…but others were different. So Harley was still working on that inventing thing. Good for him. He could be pretty good at it.

Capsicle was walking around the room, taking everything in. I had a feeling I knew what was about to come out of his mouth before he even said it.

I was right. Of course, I usually am.

"Tony, how old is this kid?"

"Uh—ten, eleven? I'm not really great with kids."

"And you thought it'd be okay to give a kid all these weapons?"

"Hey, not everything's a weapon!" I protected myself. "Though, how he made this into a laser pen is great. I didn't think he had it in him. Marvelous."

"Tony!" Cap snapped.

I didn't have a chance to reply, because Harley chose that moment to burst into the garage, slinging his backpack across the floor.

Apparently he missed the private jet in his backyard, because he was staring at us, dumbfounded. Really. How do you miss a private jet? _MY_ private jet?

"Iron Man! You're back! And Captain America? That is awesome!"

~oOo~

Harley's POV:

I was having a bad day, and I know that Keith would be coming after me tomorrow, maybe I'll just take the day off. I was thinking of ways to avoid Keith and his gang the next day as I got off the bus and walked to my garage, not really paying attention to my surroundings. I opened the door and stopped short when I saw who was there.

"Iron Man! You're back! And Captain America? That is awesome!"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Steve, or Captain America."

"I'm Harley." I said as I shook his hand. "You're so awesome! What are you guys doing here?"

"In the neighborhood, you know what they say. How's that bully problem of yours going?" Tony said. I looked down.

"It's fine. They leave me alone now…"

"They do? That's funny, did something happen between recess and now?"

"W-What do you mean?" I stuttered, he couldn't know about recess…

"I mean just what I said, did something changed since he threatened you at recess today?"

"How do you know that?"

"You know, school security."

"Are you spying on me?"

"No." He said, though I didn't really believe him.

"Did you tell a teacher?" Steve asked.

"No, it's not like they will believe me anyway. Everyone thinks I'm a liar because I told them I know Iron Man."

"Has it gotten worse than today before?" I couldn't really lie to Captain America. Or Iron Man actually.

"Yeah… They've gotten me a couple of times. But I'm fine. I try to just stay out of their way ya know?"

"Hm… Tell me Harley, you like pizza?" Tony asked.

-Time Skip-

It was almost time for recess and I was fidgeting in my seat. Keith sat a few rows away, but he was looking at me like he was ready to kill me. Once the teacher told us to line up I trudged behind everyone else. We walked outside and I looked around warily. I was suddenly grabbed from behind and dragged to a wall that was out of sight from the teachers, and pinned against it. I tried to get away, but it was no use.

"Leave me alone!" I shouted at Keith and his friends.

"Why would we do that Keener?" He said as he gripped my arms so tight that I knew it would bruise.

"Well, if you don't let go of him in the next ten seconds, you'll find out exactly why." Tony said as he materialized right behind them.

I couldn't help but smirk a little as Keith's mouth dropped open in shock. "Iron Man!" I exclaimed. "You totally did the stealth mode!"

"Well, I did tell you it was a good idea," he said.

"Was it the—"

"Yeah. Quite ingenious, if I must say so myself. Thanks for the idea."

"W-wait," Keith stuttered. " _Keener_ gave you an idea? _Keener_ knows you?"

"Are you gonna stay for lunch?" I asked, completely ignoring my now speechless tormentor.

"I was planning on it."

We started walking, Keith still staring at us in shock, and I turned around, grinning wickedly. "Are you coming, Captain America, sir?"

Keith whipped around and almost ran straight into Captain America, who was staring down at the boy with a slightly disappointed frown. He looked about to say something, but Iron Man stopped him before he said anything. That was so awesome, it was like they could read each other's minds!

"Come on, Cap. I'm starving, and I'm willing to bet Harley is too. Save your moral lecture of everlasting boredom for later."

Captain America glared a bit at Iron Man, but ultimately shrugged and walked over to us. "Is it still crowded in lunch rooms?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. They just cram us all in one room. If we don't pack lunch, we might _maybe_ get through the hot lunch line in time to eat really quickly. It's super annoying." I shrugged. "But it's not lunch yet."

"Hm… Well then…. There is only one thing that we can do… Race you to the swings!"

~oOo~

Captain's POV:

I quietly rolled my eyes as Tony raced Harley to the swings. When they reached their destination, I narrowed my eyes as Tony glanced at me "innocently" and spoke quietly to Harley. I strode over to him quickly, becoming even more suspicious when Tony noticed me and quickly shut up, swinging his legs faster to go higher on the swings.

"Tony?" I asked suspiciously. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Not that I can think of, Cap," he said brightly.

I opened my mouth to say more, but noticed all the kids staring at us in awe. I closed my mouth and sighed. We couldn't have two Avengers arguing in front of children, so I held off my questioning and accepted the swing that Harley was holding out for me.

~oOo~

Harley's POV:

I tried hard to keep the grin off of my face, I really, really did. I probably looked ridiculous, but I couldn't help it. I was sitting between _Captain America_ and _Iron Man_. My favorite two _ridiculously AWESOME_ heroes were swinging with me on the PLAYGROUND! In front of the entire school! Even the principal was watching! This was beyond awesome.

All too soon, the stupid bell had to ring. Dejectedly, I started to stop swinging my legs, letting them drag against the ground as I slowed down. "I guess it's time for lunch."

"Did you pack? Of course not," Iron Man answered himself. "What kid packs a lunch for school?" He pulled out a phone and thumbed in something, and then hopped off his swing. "C'mon kid."

~oOo~

Captain's POV:

I couldn't help but chuckle as Harley copied Tony by jumping off the swing in eager pursuit. The kid just had the biggest fan crush on Tony, it was too hard not to smile.

"What do you want on your pizza kid?"

"Seriously?" Harley asked him. "We're getting pizza? Cool!"

"Yeah, well. I like pizza, so what do you want?"

"I can have anything?"

"Yup." Tony said, popping the 'p' at the end.

"But I don't want to get something you don't like."

"Kid, you misunderstand me. We are each getting our own pizzas, you get one, I get one, and Captain gets one."

"Cool!"

"So what do you want on your pizza kiddo?" Tony asked him.

"Um, anchovies?"

I grimaced. Tony looked a bit grossed out too.

"Why are you asking me? It's your pizza."

"Anchovies then! Oh… Um, please?"

"You don't say please kid. You make demands. When you say please people think one of three things. One: you're a giant suck up, two: you're not confident or three: people think they can walk all over you."

"Tony-" I tried to interrupt, Tony was going to corrupt this kid!

"Take Cap here for example."

"Excuse me?"

"See? He's being polite even now. As long as your polite you can make him do practically anything."

"That's no-" I tried again.

"You get what I'm saying?"

"I think so Mr. Stark."

"Good, so try again mini me."

"No. Absolutely not. He is NOT a mini you Tony! One of you is bad enough, heck, even half of you would be to much. No Harley is NOT a mini you." I interrupted.

They both turned to me.

"Yo Patriot-boy, we are trying to have a conversation here, it's rude to interrupt." Tony said and I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. "But you have a point, mini-me needs an awesome name. We will think of something kid." He told Harley while ruffling the kids hair and winking at him.

~oOo~

Harley's POV:

Cool! I'll get a codename just like Ironman and the rest of the avengers! Can this day get any better?

We ignored all the eyes that were on us as we sat down at a table in the cafeteria. Many people looked as though they wanted to come join us, but no one did.

"So when is the pizza getting here?" I asked Ironman. He just looked at me and smirked.

"Why don't you check behind you…Mechanic Junior?"

Captain America rolled his eyes. "No."

I didn't bother to watch Iron Man squabble, as much as I loved to hear him talk. The man could make _anything_ sound sarcastic and impressive at the same time. It was awesome. I just spun on my foot and nearly—did not, thought—squealed. But I didn't! I didn't say anything. But there were three Iron Man suits, all holding a pizza each. I could feel my mouth watering as the smell reached me.

~o0o~

Captain's POV

I couldn't help but smile as I watched Harley practically drool over the thought of food. I had to admit, it _did_ smell delicious. The smile turned downwards as I watched a very angry woman stalk towards us.

~o0o~

Miss Daniels' POV:

There comes a time when one must stand firm on their beliefs. Even if standing firm meant standing up to…. oh, oh my…

My step faltered for a moment, but I squared my shoulders and continued my—well, I guess _mission_ would be the appropriate word with our…guests. I couldn't even begin to _fathom_ trying to speak to the two men, so I turned to the one person I knew I could get a point across.

"Mr. Keener, what is going on here?"

~o0o~

Harley's POV:

I gulped and froze. She was addressing _me_? This can't be good. Why couldn't she speak to the people who could actually understand her when she started going all "I'm better than you because I'm a grown up"? Besides, I wasn't even the one who brought the pizza! I didn't order it!

But then I saw Keith smirking out of the corner of my eye, and when he saw me looking at him, he grinned a little harder and made a slashing movement across his neck. That's when I knew what I had to do.

Iron Man told me that I had to make demands—not let people walk all over me. So I squared my shoulders and took a deep breath.

"We can have pizza if we want to! And it's paid for so you can't take it back!"

~o0o~

Captain's POV:

I was left somewhere between wanting to frown at the (principal? I think?)'s tone and wanting to just start laughing at Harley's statement. I was about to say something when Tony broke in.

"Excuse me, what was that?"

I noticed Harley blush and look down, and was about to berate Tony. He's the one who encouraged the kid to stick up! But again, Tony beat me to it.

"Not you, kid. _That_ kid. What was that, exactly?" Now he was walking over. Great. What did this kid do?

"You think Harley's going to get in trouble for this? Is that why you did the whole—" he mimicked a slashing movement across his neck, and I narrowed my eyes. When did the kid do that? "What exactly makes you believe that Harley's going to get in trouble? You think the principal can yell at him for the pizza? Think again. I ordered them, I paid for them. Or maybe you're indicating something that will happen after Cap and I leave. So you're threatening him?" The poor kid couldn't even move, but I wasn't about to step in. He was a bully, and I was all about fighting bullies.

"Did you know that threatening someone is illegal? Or, even if it's not, that's the intent to assault my good friend here. Which means that I could take you to court. Do you honestly think that you have what it takes to match me in court?"

By now the poor boy was shaking. I knew I had to step in. "Tony," I said quietly. Thankfully, he immediately stopped. Looking back at the boy, he frowned again and then turned to the principal. "Harley didn't order the pizza. I did."

"This isn't about the pizza!"

"Then what's your problem, exactly?" Tony asked, tilting his head a little in that way he does when he knows _exactly_ what the problem is and is just having fun at the other person's expense. "Cause your kind of interrupting lunch, lady, and these people don't seem to get a lot of time for that kind of thing, which is ridiculous, by the way. You should do something about that."

"You don't talk to my aunt that way! She's the principal of this school, and what she says goes!"

I narrowed my eyes as Tony swiveled around to face Keith again. It was all adding up. "So she thinks its okay for you to bully others, then?"

I didn't realize that one little sentence would make the entire lunch room riot. Half of the kids were shouting that I was wrong, the others were gasping and talking to each other about the fact that I just called out the _principal's nephew_ on bullying.

The principal raised her voice, trying to get the kids to settle down. I rolled my eyes when Tony smirked at me, but I was smiling slightly too. After a few minutes, I nodded and Tony made some quick motions, calling his Iron Legion down to the floor, immediately halting all conversation.

"Keith is not a bully."

I sat back and watched the fireworks fly, wishing I had some good old buttered popcorn to enjoy this show. I settled for a slice of pizza and motioned for Harley to do the same. He hesitated, but then relaxed and followed orders, coming to sit beside me.

~o0o~

Tony's POV:

Not a bully? _Not_ a _bully_? Excuse me? What did this lady think I was doing here?

"Did you just say that your niece was not a bully?"

She looked affronted. "He's my _nephew_ , Mr. Stark."

"Oh I'm aware of what the term is, but I do believe that the needed term for this bully is _niece_. Wait," I said, holding up his hands to stop the next comment. "I take that back." I turned to face the lunchroom, who were all silent, watching me with wide eyes. I had them hooked. "Ladies, I apologize. That was extremely rude. Please, forgive me." I winked and gave them my trademark smile and watched as a few of them looked down, blushing. "Back to where we were. Your nephew _isn't_ a bully? Would you like to explain that to me?"

"Keith has never bullied anyone in his entire life! He wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"Yes, because that would involve actually producing some muscle to back up your talk. Something that boy is entirely incapable of."

"We are getting off topic. We do not allow weapons in this school!"

"Now who's getting off topic? You know that your nephew is a bully, and you let him hide behind your skirt like a three-year-old who's getting in trouble." I turned to the kids again. "Who here has been a victim of this one's bullying?"

It was like—what was that word? oh right, crickets—crickets chirping. No one moved. Harley got up and came over to me, pulling slightly on my sleeve. "Um, Mr. Iron Man, sir?" he whispered when I bent down. "He only bullies me."

I closed my eyes. Perfect. Just perfect. "Fine," I snapped, semi-wishing I hadn't when Harley flinched. "I'm not mad at you, kid," I assured him, taking on a tone I only usually used with Pepper. Can't have people thinking I'm a soft-belly, now can I? "Fine," I continued. "Who here has _witnessed_ that kid bullying Harley?"

For a long time, nobody moved. Then slowly, a girl who looked like a very tiny elf stepped forward. These kids were way too small for my liking. She raised her hand timidly. "I have, Mr. Iron Man. I just,"

"Just what?" I prompted.

"It's just…everyone knows who he is, sir. And he always says that he won't get in trouble cause his aunt is the principal, you know?" Kids were stepping up and agreeing with her now, which seemed to give her more confidence. These schools really needed to start teaching these kids to grow a backbone. How are they going to survive the world if they don't have any confidence? "And Harley always seems to shake it off…we just didn't know what to do."

I turned to the principal again. "So tell me again, Ms.…"

"Daniels," she said resignedly.

"Tell me again how your sweet, precious nephew is not a bully?"

She opened her mouth and closed it again, and I couldn't help but smirk. I won this round, and she knew it. "That still doesn't ignore the fact that we can't have weapons in this school!"

"Fine!" I snapped. "Cap, looks like you have to go."

"What?" Both Daniels and Capsicle were looking at me as if I were crazy. Well, jury's out.

"Hey, she said no weapons. Your entire body is a weapon. Literally."

At this, the entire lunchroom rioted again. We had these kid eating out of the palm of our hands. And this time, I wouldn't stop them. I just crossed my arms and cocked my head to the side. "Your move," I mouthed.

She shook her head and left, pulling Keith along with her.

-3 Months Later-

Harley's POV:

The past few months had been good. Keith had been leaving me alone for the most part, though he did occasionally trip me, or "bump" into me really hard, he had even shoved me once, and he was still always insulting me. But it wasn't as big of a deal anymore. I had stayed in contact with Iron Man through email, he had even come up with a code name for me! How awesome is that right?

I was sitting in class listening to the teacher talk when the intercom was activated.

"Watchman. Watchman. You are needed in the office. I repeat Watchman report to the office right away."

My eyes were wide with excitement as I stood up, grabbing my stuff.

"Mr. Keener, sit back down."

"Sorry ma'am, but that's my boss, and it seems I'm needed." I grinned at her.

"Watchman, report to the office, it's urgent."

"Quite urgently, it seems." And with that I made my way out of the room, just barely avoiding the foot Keith stuck out to trip me.

Once in the hallway I ran to the office because Iron Man kept calling me over the intercom, saying it was urgent. I arrived at the office, out of breath, but I was still smiling like crazy when I saw Iron Man standing there. Miss Daniels was glaring at him through her office window, and then at me when she noticed my arrival. I ignored her and walked up to Iron Man.

"What's up Iron Man?"

"Your needed for one of the most important missions you could ever get."

"What?" I asked excitedly.

"Pepper found out that I basically threatened a principle in the middle of a room with kids with my suits. She's mad ad you need to fix it."

Oh I'm doomed.


End file.
